Each week Alison Green, who also writes the "Ask a Manager" website, answers workplace and management questions from readers. Please use the comment section below to respond to today's questions with your experience or your advice.

Question: Who should attend an exit interview?

I handle internal HR for a small organization (less than 20 employees). I have two exit interviews coming up for exiting employees in two different departments. For one, my manager (COO) wants to be present, and for the other (a finance employee), he wants my CFO to “observe.” The CFO is relatively new to leading the vertical and has not worked directly with that exiting employee.

Who is it appropriate to include in an exit interview? I have concerns about my COO being at the first one because I’d expect feedback from that employee to specifically touch on aggressive communications from the COO. For the other, I have no problem with the CFO participating as I don’t expect any of the feedback to be personal, but is it weird to have him “observe” versus participate (or not be present?)

What are your general recommendations for including extra individuals in exit interviews?

Answer

The goal of an exit interview is to get candid information from the exiting employee. The more people you have present, the less likely the person is to be candid.

I can’t think of any compelling reason to let someone “observe” exit interviews or otherwise include additional people. The atmosphere you want is one that’s a safe place to talk, not one with “observers” — let alone intimidating observers.

Alison Green writes about workplace and management issues for The Business Journals. She writes the "Ask a Manager" website, dispensing advice on career, job search, and management issues. Previously she was the chief of staff for a national nonprofit lobbying organization, where she was responsible for day-to-day management. She lives in Washington, D.C.